The Latin King
by Arens1991
Summary: What happens when you unknowingly meet an UNSUB and trust him so completely you would damn the consequences?
1. The Latin King's Kiss

There was a bit of static and then Jose's voice came through:

"_You ready, Miss Pretty Penny?" Jose said_

"_Yeah go head" Came Penelope's recorded voice_

"_To the members of the BAU: they have just started surgery on MJ. The doctors gave me a preliminary report. They say that it's a 50/50 shot whether she will ever walk again. They said she will live, but that as of now, she would be paralyzed from the bullet wound down. Your lovely technical analyst should have pin-pointed my location by now, so she knows that I am at Agape Memorial Hospital." Jose's voice began to crack a little. "I want to stay here until she gets out of surgery, if you will allow me to. Don't worry I am unarmed. I don't know if there is anything else you need to know but I will keep you posted on her condition. I wish I had met her sooner, she is a truly beautiful person, and she gives me hope, and proves, that there is still good in the world." There is a slight pause. "I'm sorry it had to come to this point, but since it has, there isn't anything more for me to do except wait for you guys to get here. Remember you are heading to a hospital, so try to avoid the 'guns blazing' part that the FBI is notorious for, you could scare the patients." _

…_**48 hours earlier…**_

You had started cutting again... you have been in the same clothes since Thursday, the last case took longer than what anyone packed for, so when you landed again everyone was supposed to go home shower and sleep. The only real problem with that for you was that you found that blade in your bible while everyone slept... you shut the book and pretended to sleep the rest of the plane ride. You were next to Emily and, though she usually doesn't, she was snoring louder than Derek... if possible... you decided to drive around until the urges stopped. The radio is talking about the latest serial rapist/killer. They are calling him the Latin King because he leaves a tiara on his victims. You deal with these creeps every day and you almost go into profiler mode. You turn the radio off. 1:07 am you had cut open your knee so bad you had to go to the store for bandages. You know that the guys are gonna kill you when they find out but at this point you don't care... There is nothing else for you to do. You look at the clock in your car as you turn in to a truck stop. 1:45, you go inside to change clothes. Your mind is someplace else when the higher but still masculine voice of the cashier says "Hey Beautiful." you exit the ladies room and are now wearing an old college shirt and a black tea length skirt. You smile politely as you walk back out and go back out to your car for your purse. When you come back in the man is vacuuming the carpet. He looks to be about 28-29 and around 150 pounds. You walk over to the soda machine and pick up the largest cup.

"Hey darlin', how much is this size?" You holler over the vacuumed noise.

The vacuumed switches off. "Um... 1.81, I believe."

"Thank you." you reply taking the cup and filling it with Root-Beer

You head up to the counter and you smile again.

"Will that be all beautiful?" the cashier asks

"Yea, um hey do you mind if I stay here for a bit over in one of the booths? Just for a little while?" you ask giving him 2 dollars

"No problem, long as you don't mind me coming over to harass you every once in a while." he says giving you your change.

"Not at all would it get my mind off of other things" you reply

"See you later then Gorgeous." he smiles

"K" you say taking the drink from the counter and walking over to the first booth past the door.

The window across doubled as a mirror so you could watch out for people to sneak up on you and keep an eye on your car. You watch everything that is going on around you and you pull out your notebook. By this time it is 2:36 and you are exhausted. You write your initials "MJ" on your foam cup in a green jell pen you got from a friend and begin writing. After about half an hour you fall asleep, only to be woken up by a trucker taking liberties to sit with you. If the FBI had taught you anything it was how to not panic.

"Hey," the trucker says

"Hello" you respond backing into the opposite corner.

He was cattycorner from you so you didn't have to worry about him forcing himself on you physically. The table between you stopped that well enough.

"My buddy over there thought you passed out or something are you ok?" he asked

"Yeah fine, I haven't had a lot of sleep lately so I must have nodded off..." you said pushing yourself up in the booth.

"So what's a pretty young thing like you doing out so late hmm?" asked the trucker

"Well actually I'm trying to stop an addiction" you said

"What kind of addiction?" he asked his eyes lighting up as he did so.

"It's personal" you reply and go back to your notebook

"Well I'm into weed," the trucker begins then he goes on talking about how his buddy failed to make the drop and that he could really use a hit right then. You contemplate on whether you should tell him that you are FBI or let him ramble on. You decided to let him ramble on and besides that you didn't have your badge and hand cuffs to take him in with anyway. It took 15 minutes for the cashier to walk over out of curiosity. The trucker sitting across from you leaned forward and told you to meet him in the maroon cab for a good time. You were definitely not going to take him up on that offer.

"You alright beautiful?" the cashier asks

"Yeah, I'm fine." you reply

"I hope he wasn't bothering you, but I thought you might have hollered if he was." he says as he starts taking down the chairs

"He was but I know when to scream and when to let things run their course." you say casually standing up to stretch.

"Well he won't hurt you, he's just a bit lonely... that and there are cameras around here everywhere." The cashier gestures to a nearby camera.

"Those are helpful," you smile at him.

"So what's your name, beautiful?" he asks still taking down the chairs

"M.J." you say

"What does that stand for?" he has gotten closer to you

"Musical Journey" you say like it isn't the strangest name in the world.

"Really?" he asks

"Yeah," you say. "But all official documents outside of my birth certificate and social security card say M.J."

"Wow, that's a nice name..." he says leaning on the booth right next to you "much cleverer than Jose." he pauses "Oh that's me by the way."

"I like your name... it leaves no room for explanation." you look him up and down, his Hispanic body is so lean and very well-muscled, but not as broad as Derek.

"So how old are you? 25-26" Jose asks,

"24 in 2 weeks" you reply

"Oh wow, you're just a baby still" he laughs

"I beg your pardon?" you stand up "Does this look like a baby's body to you?" you ask gesturing to yourself

"To me you are a baby."

"You're like 29"

"Oh no, beautiful, I'm not, I'm older than that. Much older" Jose responds

"35 then" you reply

"I'm 41" Jose informs you.

"Wow" you say

"What are you doing out this late" José asks

"Fighting an addiction, I'm a cutter."

"That's not good beautiful. You shouldn't put marks on your body like that. You are too beautiful for that."

You look at the clock, 5:45 it says "So what's your story?" you ask feeling suddenly uncomfortable with the conversation, only by being embarrassed that he called you beautiful after reprimanding you for your addiction.

"Oh I'm from Indiana," he says "A buddy of mine brought me out this way, I live just about a mile up the road I walk most places."

You look outside the blizzard began sooner than it should have. You see how sweet he is and without thinking say "I can take you home... I'm not doing anything else."

"Are you sure, I don't get off until 7:30" he says surprised by the offer.

"Yeah, it's my day off, I don't have to be me till Monday" you smile

"Well thanks beautiful, I appreciate It." he turns another chair over.

Fast forward to just a little past 7:15, you have started your little old car and went back inside while it defrosted all its windows. He knocks on the window, and you walk outside.

"I got off a little early" he says with a smile. He is sitting on the back of the bench. He is wearing blue jeans, a leather jacket and a bulky pull over hoodie.

"Well my car needs to heat up first." you say leaning on the bench.

"Well I'm gonna smoke a cigarette before I go home" he says as he lights his cigarette

"6 minutes" you mumble opening your bible and tossing the blade into the trashcan next to the door.

"6 minutes? What does that mean?" He asks curiously

"Every cigarette takes 6 minutes off your life. That's 6 minutes less with the people who love you."

"No one loves me." he says

"Ok, less time to go out drinking with the guys then."

"I don't have guy friends to go out with." José replies

"You have to have some reason for living." you say

"I go to work, I go home." He replies

"Fine less travel time between the two." you say laughing a little.

"I'm proud of you by the way," he says

"What for?" you ask

"Throwing that away, it takes a lot for someone to break an addiction, it's going to be hard to keep it broken, but you took the first step." Jose put out his cigarette and hopped off the bench. You smile to yourself.

This guy is something else, you think. You and he get in to your car and then you drive off. He begins directing you to his house but your car begins to stall. This happens a lot in winter. You notice the all too familiar steeple to the little white church your grandmother went to, you still go there when you are in town so pulling into the parking lot wouldn't be an issue, you pull in and park as far from the door as you can.

"What's wrong with your car?" Jose asks

"Oh it hates the cold and decides to overcompensate. The people here know me and know that my car hates cold." you reply "we have to sit here and wait for it for a while. You can lean your seat back if you want. Take a nap while we wait for someone to come get us." you begin to lean yours back to stretch out your legs. Then you pull out your phone and send a group text to the guys of the BAU. You had done it many times before, and they had usually taken turns in choosing who came to get you because they were equidistant from that church.

_CAR STALLED AT THE LITTLE WHITE CHURCH. DECIDE WHICHEVER ONE OF YOU CAN GET HERE THE FASTEST AND LET ME KNOW. I PULLED AN ALL NIGHTER. HONK WHEN YOU GET HERE. THANKS GUYS. 3 MJ _

Jose looks at you for a minute. Then shakes his head.

"What?" you ask

"Nothing..." he says

"Oh come on, what were you thinking?" you say

"Bad things..." he says with a smile in his voice

"What do you mean?" you ask

"You can't be offering strangers rides like this, you are a beautiful single woman, and you can't be doing dangerous things like this..." he says

"You are not a stranger, you are Jose. And I trust you." you reply.

"You can't trust me," he says.

"I have to or I'm going crazy." you say

"You shouldn't trust me..." he says

"I'm the girl who won't let people within 5 feet of me, I'm the girl who won't even let her mother closer than necessary, Jose, I have got to have faith that you won't cross a line." you look at him with great seriousness and sadness "I have to trust and have faith that I am not going crazy and that all men are not the worst thing to walk the earth. Please let me have that faith."

"You can't be trusting someone like me" he says

"But I do," you say, your car is now blanketed in white snow "please let me have faith, let me trust you."

"You Cant." he says and in one motion he lifts himself up and leans over and presses his lips to yours. He kisses you three times then sits back down in his seat. "You can't trust me MJ, do you know what I could do to you?"

"I do trust you. For some reason I wanted you to do that." A tear rolls down your cheek, "Jose, I don't let people get this close to me, but there is something about you that makes me want to let you in. anyone who knows me will tell you that offering a guy a ride home is not what I do, I will barely offer my brother a ride home. It just isn't-" you are cut off by his lips once again on yours. He starts slowly with his hand on your thigh and then it moves to between your legs. He gets about 10 or so kisses in while whispering your name before headlights and a horn bring you both back to reality and he jumps back. Your phone buzzes, it is Reid…


	2. Rossi's Mansion

"Hello?" you say after flipping your phone open.

"_Hey, MJ, we're here… there was a guy's night and I was drafted to come along, we hired a limo… well Rossi hired a limo."_ Reid said. There was some loud noise going on in the background that sounded vaguely like Hotch

"Is Hotch drunk?" you ask

"_Yeah so are Rossi and Morgan, but Hotch is the only person awake. Other than me that is_" Reid says

"Ok we will be right there." You say and you hang up before Reid can ask "_what do you mean 'we'"_

You and Jose get out of the car and walk to the limo. Reid gets opens the door from the inside.

"Derek broke the handle trying to get Rossi and Hotch in here like 5 bars ago." Reid said. "Who is your friend?"

"His name is Jose, he works at Uncle Carl's Truck Stop…" you say getting in, Jose right behind you. Then you look from Jose to Reid. _ So this is what you get when you put Morgan and Reid together… very sexy… _You think.

"So, how do you know each other?" Hotch asked making his presence known he had been using Reid's messenger bag as a pillow. Rossi and Morgan must be in the other part of the tri sectioned stretch limo.

"M.J offered me a ride home from work and her car stalled." Jose said.

"Oh well we were heading back to Rossi's house, you can stay there until everyone sobers up." Reid supplied.

"Rossi doesn't have a house… he has a mansion…." Hotch mumbled

"It would save confusion about directions. The driver isn't very good about that." There was a knock on the glass that separated the driver from the passengers of the first section. Reid slid open the dark glass to face a glaring driver.

"I ain't half bad with directions if little blighters like you wouldn't keep throwing in bloody useless information, why if I weren't -" the driver started in a mean British voice but upon seeing you smiled and said "Oh Hallo Ma'am, where to?"

"Did he toss in statistics while you were getting directions?" you ask stifling a giggle.

"That he did Ma'am" the driver glared at Reid. "So where would you like to go, Miss?" the driver said with a smile to you

"Um, did you pick them up at the Italian man's place?" you ask

"Yes, Ma'am I did." The driver says

"Would you take us back there please?" you ask blinking 3 times very quickly

"Certainly, Miss." The driver smiled, then glaring at Reid once more he turned forward and pulled out of the church parking lot and Reid shut the glass divider again.

"Maybe you should carry duct tape with you Reid" you say settling into Jose's shoulder.

"Why?" Reid asked then he rambled off several statistics about people who carry duct tape with them.

"To shut you up man" Jose said finally getting tired of hearing Reid ramble on. Reid does not shut up but instead rambles on about the effects of duct tape placed on someone's mouth. Then Jose looked at you. "Doesn't his rambling bother you?" He asks.

"In my purse is a roll of duct tape, toss it to him." You say handing Jose your purse. He does as you say.

"Wait what?" Reid asks. "MJ, you can't be serious!" Hotch moved in his half-drunk half-sleeping state, hitting Reid's knee.

"I'm tired, Reid, now put it on or I will put it on you." You say

"Do you understand the repercussions of someone constantly being gaged by duct tape?" Reid asked in a hushed tone trying to let Hotch sleep.

"Do you understand the repercussions of getting on my bad side?" you say, holding on to Jose as the driver turns sharply. You look at Hotch who fell off the seat and was not sitting up straight looking around drowsily.

"What happened?" Hotch asked

"I'm not going to feel like I'm being kidnapped for the 49th time." Reid said.

"You asked for it." You said moving over to him and snatching the duct tape.

"MJ, what are you doing here?" Hotch asked as Reid got up taking off his messenger bag and heading over to the other end of the section. Reid tripped over Hotch's foot, landing on his back. "Reid what did you do to her?"

"I gave you the option to do it yourself." You say as you straddle Reid's torso pinning his arms in the process. You tape his mouth shut then through his struggling you tape his hands together. Jose is sitting there laughing hysterically as you take down a man 6 years your senior. You get off of Reid just as the driver stops abruptly, which causes you to fall forward right into Jose, who had moved out of the way in order to keep from getting caught in the duct tape war. You caught yourself on his upper arms, stopping the rest of you from falling on him.

"Hey there, Beautiful." He says

The Driver then lurches forward causing you to fall backward pulling Jose with you. You landed awkwardly on your back and Jose fell just barely stopping above you. Jose's hands were just above your shoulders and your hands were on his chest. You have your eyes closed bracing for impact when suddenly there is a gentle whisper in your ear.

"Oh come on, beautiful, I may be 41, but my reflexes aren't that bad." Jose says and he kisses your cheek before moving back to his seat. He extended his arm for you to take and then he yanked you up next to him. Reid is still on the floor trying to yell at you for duct taping him and Hotch is holding his head trying to alleviate his head ache. Then there is a knock on the back wall and Hotch slides open the glass.

"What is going on up there?" says Rossi in a very drowsy/drunken voice.

"Nothing, Dave, Go back to sleep." Hotch says.

"Who is he?" Rossi asks pointing to Jose.

"No Idea, I thought he was a figment of my imagination…" Hotch says "now go to sleep…" and with that he shuts the glass again. "MJ? Who is he?" Hotch asks you trying desperately to focus on the figure to your left.

"His name is Jose, I offered him a ride then my car stalled." You say.

"Oh…" Hotch says

"Who was the guy in the other section? And why was this guy so insistent on him sleeping?" Jose asks

"This guy, is Hotch," you say pointing to Hotch, "the guy in the other section is David Rossi, and it is easier to deal with Dave when he is a sleeping drunk. There is another guy in that section named Derek Morgan, you won't meet him till we get to Rossi's house."

The car ride was quiet save Reid trying to yell at you for the duct tape until 45 minutes later the driver politely knocks on the glass. You slide it open.

"We're here, Miss. Would you like help getting these blokes inside?"

"No thank you sir, and thank you for putting up with these guys all night." You open the door and Jose gets out and goes to retrieve Rossi.

Since you, Jose, and Hotch were awake you decided to take one person each, agreeing that Hotch would handle Reid because Reid was mad at you and didn't like others touching him, Jose could manage a sleeping and drunk Rossi and you would rouse the sleeping Derek Morgan [you like Hotch and Jose, you don't want them DOA to Rossi's].

"A pleasure Miss." The driver said smiling at you. You climb out to see that Jose has Rossi thrown over his shoulder and the driver rolls down the front passenger window.

"Has Rossi already taken care of the damage to the Limo?" you ask as Hotch takes Reid up the stairs bridle style.

"No, but the company will figure that out later miss, you have enough to deal with as it is." The driver says nodding toward the 4 men waiting at the front door and handing you a set of keys. "The Italian told me to give these to the sober one."

"Thanks, will you wait a minute I have one more to get from the back." You ask blinking 4 times very quickly

"Certainly Miss, I always wait till a lady gets inside." The driver says and you run up and unlock the door for the guys.

"Hotch show Jose where the living room is and put them on the sofas till I get in." you say then you go back out to the second section of the limo.

You get in and notice that Derek has his gun on him. '_Show off or paranoia… that is the question'_ you think. You carefully remove the gun from under his jacket and put it in your purse. You try to be gentle with him but he still falls off the seat and reaches for his gun.

"MJ? What are you doing here?" he says after getting his bearings.

"Check your phone and let's go, you need sleep in a proper bed." You say sweetly. You and Derek head inside. You see Jose watching you and you wonder what he is thinking. '_Good Lord, he must wonder what a 5'2 girl is doin' trying to help a 6'1 drunk guy._' You stumble with Derek up the steps and Jose comes out to stabilize you.

"Who's the Hispanic Reid?" Derek says.

"My name is Jose and I'm not half as annoying as the walking encyclopedia." Jose says with slight humor in his voice. You got Derek inside and fumbled with the keys in the door.

"Come on Derek, name their similarities later…" you say leading Derek and Jose up the small staircase to the first room on the left. You tucked Derek into bed and then left quietly with Jose. You get to the hall and see Hotch coming out of one down the hall.

"Derek?" Hotch asked pointing to the door.

"Yeah," you say opening your purse and showing Hotch the gun. "What was he doing with this?" you ask

"Showing off… he claims the ladies love it." Hotch replied leading the way downstairs.

"Well, we don't." you say then ask "Rossi or Reid?"

"Rossi, Reid is still downstairs…" Hotch answered "So what did he do to upset you, MJ?"

"He rambled on about Duct Tape…" you say

"Does he always do that?" Jose asked

"Ramble? Yes, but usually not about duct tape." Hotch said. "So what do we do with him? He finally fell asleep…"

"How many guest rooms does Rossi have?" you ask

"4, I think. I guess I will double up with Reid…" Hotch says. "Jessica should be fine to watch Jack… Right?"

'_Oh great he had beer… now he is_ _insecure' _you think "She has had him for longer… I'll talk to her about it, let me have your phone."

"Reid had it, he has all of them… in his um… in his bag" Hotch says looking at Reid who is still bound and sleeping.

"Ok well I'll get it later then." You say. You pull out a knife you have and cut Reid loose, gently pulling the layers of duct tape off his hands and mouth. You scribble something on a post-it note from your purse and stick it on his palm. "Will you be alright to get him upstairs?" you ask stepping away so that Hotch can carry Reid to the bedroom.

"Yes," he says lifting Reid bridle style but then he stumbles "um… No…" he says

"I'll go up with you," Jose says taking Reid "Hang on to my shoulder."

You watch as Jose carries one and leads the last of the 4 FBI men up to bed. He comes back down a few minutes later and it is almost 10 AM. You open your phone and call Jessica.

"Hey, Jess… yeah… MJ here… no Aaron's fine but the guys got a little crazy and gave him beer… Yeah… no my car stalled over at the little white church on Lincoln Street… yeah all 4 of them went… no, Rossi hired a limo… yeah Reid was, but he was the only one… I told Aaron I would talk to you… yeah, you know how insecure he gets when he has beer… Derek must have dared him… yeah… he may not be home till after work tomorrow... Thanks for understanding Jess… yep talk to you later… mm-hmm… bye." You close your phone and turn around to see Jose standing there one arm extended. He has discarded his jacket and hoodie leaving them on the arm of the shorter sofa.

"The knife, MJ." He says. You reluctantly hand it over, and cross your arms. He puts it in his pocket and pulls you forward into a tight embrace. "You have got to stop doing this… you are too beautiful…" he kisses the top of your head. "So what room am I going to be in?" he asks pulling away from you.

"Um, I'm not sure, I don't spend nights here so I am not as familiar with the house as the guys are…" you say.

"Well," Jose says "There were only 3 rooms down that hall…"

"Let's stay here then, I'm too tired to go searching and get lost…" you say, sitting down on one sofa. They are arranged in an "L" shape and you are on the shorter one of the two. On the floor is Reid's messenger bag.

"Do you mind if I close the doors?" Jose asks.

"Go ahead, I hate when people walk in on me sleeping…" you say. You open Reid's bag and pull out 5 cell phones [Reid has two, one for his mother and her doctors to call and one for everyone and everything else], silencing each one as you pull them out.. You don't mute the one for Reid's mother, you put that on vibe and set them all on a pillow from the sofa. You set your phone down next to the other 5 after putting it on mute. Jose takes the other sofa and you lay on your side to look at him.

"Why are you looking at me?" he asks

"Because I like looking at you… it makes you ask questions…" you say sleepily taking off your t-shirt revealing a green lace trimmed undershirt. You hate that Rossi is cold blooded, he keeps his house so hot.

"You shouldn't be so trusting of me… I'm not a good person…" Jose says looking away.

"Says who? I don't care what you have done or what you could become, you are the only man that I haven't been scared of and the only man I haven't pushed away literally or figuratively." you say "I have to trust that you won't cross any line I don't want you to cross, or my faith is in vein and I am going crazy."

"So you wouldn't let me do anything?" he asks, reaching over and outlining the lace trim of your undershirt with his fingertips.

"I didn't say that," you say "I said I trust that you will know when to stop."

"What's going to happen it we do this?"

"Well if the guys find out you will have a few death threats against you, but I won't tell and you won't tell because you are too much of a gentleman," you stop to think of anything else that might happen "I guess the only thing of concern would be if you will still respect me when it is over, because I will respect you."

He stands up and walks over to you. You follow him with your body and you turn so that you are on your back. He towers over you and you and he lock arms in a practice dance hold.

"You can't trust me," Jose says staring into your eyes "you are vulnerable, you could lose everything."

"So? It's my life. I may be turning only 24 but that doesn't mean I can't take care of myself." You say defensively

"Do you not understand what I could do to you?" he asks

"Yes but you are a decent person, you are a good human being, and I trust you." you say

"MJ, you shouldn't…"He says

"But I have to," you reply

"You can't" he looks deep into your eyes

"I do…" you say and his eyes darken immediately. In that moment you should have pushed him off of you, you should have been terrified, you should have screamed. Instead you lay there as Jose leans down and bites the top of your ear. Then he pulls up your skirt and pushes your legs apart and grinds against you, his belt buckle scratching the inside of your thigh. He leans down and kisses you passionately. You close your eyes as his hand moves to the back of your neck pulling you into the kiss. You moan into the kiss as his other hand moves to between your legs. He breaks the kiss looks at you with his lust darkened eyes. His hands are exploring you, like he is testing your reactions. He pushes one finger into you, then 2. You bite your lip to keep quiet so you don't wake up the guys. "Please," you say barely audible but he still seems to hear it. His fingers go in and out and then he picks up the pace. Suddenly Jose stops and pulls out the knife you handed him earlier and opens it.

"You say that I am a decent person, that you trust me. Does it matter that I could kill you?" he asks. Putting the cold metal to the lowest part of the green lace trim, just between your breasts.

"For the freedom from my past, I don't give a damn what you do to me," you say "I feel you, and whatever you do will be worth it, and I will trust you for the rest of my life. Even if the rest of my life lasts the next 3 seconds."

"I have a knife to your heart, MJ, I could rape you and slice your throat, and you still trust me?" Jose asks. His eyes are still dark but they have softened.

"Yes," you say "because you are a good person. I know you are, that is just something that you can't hide."

Jose lets go of the knife and it falls flat on your chest. "Stand up," He says. You stand and the knife falls to the carpeted floor. "Turn around," he says. You turn full circle, because he said turn around instead of face the other way. You look at him with your head tilted and Jose smiles shaking his head. It doesn't take much for him to push you back down, you land on the sofa with a soft 'uph-da!' He bends down and picks up the knife and sits next to you. He puts his arm around you and rubs your shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Jose," you whisper. "I know I did something wrong I just don't know what." You lean on him sleepily

"No, mija, you didn't do anything wrong. You actually did something right." Jose says. "You really don't understand how the whole sex thing works, do you?"

"Nope… never have… I'm kind of like Gidget… that way" you say your eyes closing

"You chose to see the good in me and that is what saved you." Jose says and he pulls something from his hoodies large front pocket and puts it on your head. You fall asleep wondering what it is and what you had been saved from…


	3. Gideon's Cabin

"MJ! MJ! Wake up MJ!" you hear. It's Rossi. "MJ, come on, kiddo, wake up!"

"Rossi? What's wrong?" you ask sitting up.

"You're bleeding, are you alright?" he says with a severe look of concern.

"I'm fine Rossi… Where's Jose?" you ask.

"Jose? Who is Jose?" Rossi asks.

You look around and there is no trace of the man you had offered a ride home to. No trace that there had been anyone else there besides you on that sofa but someone covered you with a blanket. You feel a sharp pain on your foot and on the inside of your thigh. You look at your foot and see that you are, or were in fact, bleeding. You remembered what had happened earlier.

"What time is it?" you ask

"6 in the evening, the guys are all still sleeping. What happened to you last night?" he asks out of concern.

You shake your head. "Um… I'm not sure if it was a dream or what, but I met a guy, Jose, and offered him a ride home, but my car stalled. Reid had your limo driver come get me. We got here and Jose and I put everyone to bed…"

"Oh… was it Jose who gave you the crown?" Rossi asked.

"Crown? What cro-" you placed your hand on your head and pulled off a silver tiara. Your eyes open wide, and you understand what Jose meant… you stand up and try to run up the steps to where Reid is. Unfortunately you have a sharp pain on your foot and running is not something you can manage so stumbling will have to do. Rossi gets up and follows you making sure you don't hurt yourself.

"Reid!" you say opening the door to the room that Hotch and Reid were sharing. You fail to notice that Hotch isnt in the bed with Reid, and fail to care that the door was left wide open. "Reid! Wake up! I need your eidetic memory! Wake up!"

"MJ? Huh?" Reid says sleepily sitting up in the bed. He looks at the sticky note you had written on and placed in his hand

"Reid, I need you to look at this and tell me all the information you have in your head about it." You say stumbling forward extending the crown. He takes it.

"Um it is of traditional Mexican origin, not dissimilar from the ones in the…" Reid stops and looks up at you.

"Oh, please tell me I didn't do what I think I did…" you say just as Hotch comes in from the adjoining bathroom and Derek, noticing the open door walks over to you.

"I suppose that depends on what you think you did, MJ." Rossi says.

"What's going on?" Derek asks

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." says Hotch.

"You gonna finish your sentence, Pretty Boy?" Derek says.

"This tiara is exactly identical to the tiaras from The Latin King case." Reid says

"MJ… What happened?" Hotch asked in his Unit Chief voice.

You take back the tiara from Reid and tell them about what happened and they look at you in shock.

"MJ…" Rossi starts

"Are you crazy?" Derek interrupts. You burst into tears. Rossi stands up and leaves the room.

"He could have killed all of us!" Reid says, his voice rising in pitch.

"He could have killed you," Derek said sternly

"Or Worse…" Hotch says flatly.

"But he didn't" you say in a very very small voice

"MJ, we care about you. We don't want you to get hurt. We don't want you to end up in a ditch on the side of the road." Rossi says returning with a first aid kit. He walks over and takes your foot, cleaning it and wrapping it. "I can see the headlines now: BAU MEMBER FAILED TO PROFILE LOSING HER LIFE FOR HER ERROR."

"It could have been Gideon all over again" Hotch says "Only this time the UNSUB would have won."

"What if he _had_ killed us?" Reid says "YOU BOUND ME WITH DUCT TAPE! I WOULD HAVE BEEN THE 2ND ONE DEAD!"

"Lighten up Pretty Boy, MJ knows the UNSUB," Derek says "now all we need to do is find where this guy lives and take him in."

"What information did you get on this guy?" Rossi asks pulling a clean white sock over your bandaged foot.

"I don't remember," you lie

"MJ, we know better." Derek says, tilting your chin up. "You really like him don't you?" you pull away, now you are mad.

"He doesn't know I am an FBI agent. And I didn't know he is The Latin King. I trusted him, I saw the good in him. He still has my trust and I won't betray his." You say standing testing your foot to see if you can walk on it "Hold me in contempt of court, suspend me for getting personally involved. Do what you must, but I won't tell you anything about him." You walk out of the room and down the steps followed by the guys.

"We won't suspend you or hold you in contempt of court, we will hold you as a material witness, in protective custody." Rossi says, looking at Hotch.

"Who all was awake while he was with us?" Derek asked

"Everyone said something to or about him." Reid said "but, the only thing we know about him is that he is Hispanic, his name is Jose and he works at Uncle Carl's Truck Stop… but he may have lied about his name."

"If he…" you start then you stop. _'If he was going to kill me why lie about his name, I can't ID him if I am dead'_

"You're right, MJ." Rossi said. "That's why we need you to be in protective custody."

"He will think I have given him up," you say pulling on your short sleeve shirt. You start putting on your shoes. "I can't do that, Dave. I won't do that. I trust him wholeheartedly, and that is something I haven't been able to do with anybody for years." You set Derek's gun on the couch and put the tiara in your purse then un-mute your phone. You have a text from the reverend of the little white church.

"You trusted Gideon." Hotch said. You stopped typing, that you were at Rossi's, for half a second, but only half a second.

"That was different," you say as you press send. You stand up and walk outside.

"How was that any different?" Derek asks following you while holstering his gun.

"Trust based on ranking is different than trust based on faith, it's the same as…" you shake your head _'it's the same as trusting Carl Bufford'_ "Derek, you know what it is. I don't have to bring up your past and you guys shouldn't be bringing up mine."

"MJ, we care about you we only want what's best for you." Rossi says placing his hand on your shoulder and forcing you around.

"Then get this through your thick profiling skulls: sometimes people have to make mistakes in order to learn from them!" you shout startling the guys "Let this be my one mistake, if I die then so be it! For me it's worth it! At least I die trusting someone based on faith, not rank or requirement!" you turn on your heel and storm down the long driveway. You open your phone and press and hold the number 5.

_Ring… ring… ring… rin- "Hello?"_

"Jason?" you say through your tears

"_MJ?" _Jason Gideon says recognizing your distress _"Are you alright?"_

"Yeah…" you say "But can you… Can you come get me?"

"_Where are you, sweetie?" _he asks

"At Rossi's place…"you say

"_I can be there in 45 minutes tops" _he says _"Are you sure you're alright?"_

"Yeah, I'll tell you everything when you get here." You say

"_Ok, hunny, just stay at the end of his drive and wait for me."_

"Mm'k." you say "Thanks Jason…"

"_I'll be there soon, don't wander off."_

"Yeah see you then" and you hang up. You sit on the curb in your t-shirt, tea length skirt and work boots.

You and Jason Gideon had met in a very odd manner. Your fears and phobias even more present when you joined the team as an interning tech. when you met Hotch, he scared the daylights out of you and you hid behind the first thing you saw, Jason. That was the start of a lifetime relationship. You met Jason before Reid and there was something about you that made Jason want to protect you. Hell, everyone wanted to protect you, but Jason protected you from everyone who yelled at you while you were an intern. Jason always gave you his new number when he had to change it from working with the BAU. He left before you re-joined the team, but you knew you could always call him if you were in real trouble. This time was worse than all others put together. He got there with ten minutes to spare and you hopped into his beat up old pickup truck. You ride with him in silence. He doesn't ask what happened. He doesn't reach over to you and tell you it will be alright. He just drives that old red pickup until you fall asleep. He doesn't wake you up when you get to his old cabin that no one knows about. Instead he carries you in and sits with you on the sofa, letting you use him as a pillow. The night passes quickly and soon it is Monday morning. You wake up much in the same position as you had last night only this morning you wake to the smell of chocolate chip pancakes.

"Jason?" you say

"Over here, MJ." He says. He is over at the stove flipping a pancake in the pan.

"You remembered…" you say with a laugh leaning over the kitchen counter.

"Of course, sweetheart" he says giving you a plate with 3 pancakes on it topped with butter. You give him a kiss on the cheek. "I hope that's not just for giving you chocolate."

"No, It's for always being here when I need you. I owe you a lot more but all I have on hand are kisses and hugs" you say. You set the plate on the table and pour 2 cups of coffee, each with triple cream and triple sugar. You carry them over to the table just as Jason is carrying his plate over.

"So, out with it," Jason says sitting down "Who gave you the tiara?" he gestures to the top of your head.

You blush. "The Latin King…"

"The serial killer?" he asks

"Yeah… Jason, I really screwed up this time..." you say looking down at your coffee.

"No, you have just gained a new experience. One that you need to learn from."

"He almost slept with me, Jason. If I knew anything about sexual encounters you would be planning my funeral and 4 others…" You shake your head. "He could have killed Dave, Spence, Derek and Aaron… because of my stupid addiction…"

"MJ, your past saved you and countless other potential victims." He says "You should be proud of yourself,"

"I didn't see the forest through the trees, I was so focused on why I let someone that close to me within 5 hours of meeting them and what I did wrong to make him push me onto the sofa and let me fall asleep on him, I couldn't fit him to the profile." You say

"It was your night off, The Latin King has been out there for just over a year, only claiming 9 victims. You are not Reid, you can't see everything 5 moves ahead and shorten it to one." He says "MJ you can't think less of yourself for this. The point is that you got him, you know who he is and can identify him if necessary."

"Jason, I trusted him based on faith, He does not know that I am FBI, he could have killed me and I would have let him, but he didn't. He still has my trust and I won't betray his." You say "I found someone who I didn't cower or shy away from, I can't go back to the way things were." The front door opens, startling both you and Jason. Jason reaches under the table pulling out a Colt Patterson Revolver. Jose is standing in the doorway.

"Then don't, Beautiful," Jose says walking toward you.

"Give me a reason, pal." Jason says aiming his gun and pushing you behind him. Jose stops, raising his hands as if he is being held up.

"JASON! NO!" you shout putting yourself between the two men. "Jose, what are you doing?"

"I came to return this." he says pulling out your knife

"Move out of the way, MJ." Jason says "Knives aren't just for show."

"I know that Jason" you say "It's my knife"

"MJ. Move. Now." Jason says

"Jason, this is my experience, let me learn…" you say. But Jason doesn't lower his weapon "I get that you want to protect me, but sometimes I need to play the extra moves out" that got his attention.

"If I die, I'll kill both of you." Jason says. Lowering his weapon he goes to the kitchen and starts making more pancakes. You look at Jose and frown.

"You can't be here, Jose." You say

"Because you're FBI?" he asks his eyes sad.

"You heard?" you ask feeling stupid for talking so loud

"I already knew. I had been planning to kill you for 5 months." Jose said. You look at him in shock as he pulls you close. "Your team was so close I had to retreat to keep from getting caught. I bargained with other killers promising revenge on the BAU…"

"What better revenge than taking the protected one." Jason says not turning around from the stove.

"Some of them wanted to see _you_ suffer" Jose shot back then he tilted your chin up to look at him. He traced the tears rolling down your cheek. "MJ, it wasn't supposed to be this way. You were supposed to figure me out. You were supposed to scream. You were supposed to be terrified of me! I'm a pretty scary guy!"

"No, you're not." You say with a laugh. "You weren't always like this."

"No, I got into trouble as a kid and there was only one way out. A buddy brought me out here to get away from everything, but a guy followed me pulling out a contract I signed when I was 12." Jose said. "I got 10 get out of jail free cards and I would repay him later with 10 tasks. The last task was '_revenge on the BAU_'. I was given 5 years to complete the tasks. Once I completed them I would be free."

"What happened if you missed the deadline?" you asked

"If I didn't have a damn good reason, he promised to shoot me. The deadline was up 3 weeks ago." Jose said.

"We were still gone on a case," you say "you couldn't kill me if I wasn't there to kill."

"I had to strike when your team was at its highest point." Jose said his eyes turning sadder still. "I can understand what you must be thinking, MJ. You must hate me." He turns away

"You don't even know what I'm thinking" you say tightly holding his wrist. "I trust you, I don't care what anyone tells me or what anyone thinks of you. I trusted you to know when to stop, you stopped. That makes you different. This also explains the signs of remorse at all the other crime scenes."

"MJ, you have to report him," Jason says bringing over the highest stack of pancakes he dared to carry. "No one said when."

"Garcia has a tracking device in my phone, they probably know where I am." You say "if I don't show up by 3 pm to either work or one of their houses they are gonna storm this place."

"Ok, it's 10 am," Jason says "you have 5 hours to figure out what to do, and then do it MJ." he picks up his keys.

"Where are you going?" you ask

"You trust this guy, and I have a few errands to run, I will be back by 11 and you can tell me your decision then." Jason walks out. You and Jose don't move until you hear Jason's old pickup truck fade away in the distance.

"So, Beautiful, what are you going to do with me?" Jose asks

"I don't know" you say and you lean your head on his chest.

"You have a legal obligation to report me," he says holding you close

"But I don't want to," you say. "This isn't fair!" you hit Jose's chest

"Come on," he says and he lifts you up bridal style. He takes you over to Jason's bedroom and lays you down on the bed. Then he towers over you, like he did while you were in the limo and you fell to the floor.

"I don't want to be weird around you," he says "You deserve better than me."

"Jose, I trust you. I won't stop trusting you because of something that happened before we met. It's like judging one relationship based on all the other relationships you have had. It isn't fair." you say.

"what is going to happen if we do this?" Jose asks

"You already have a few death threats, outside of that there isn't anything of consequence." You say "You can kill me and I would let you. I am the only thing left to give you that freedom."

"but I won't kill you" he says "You know that."

"I know but we can give them a good show," you say. And you tell him your plan.

He smiles. "What now?" he asks

"We wait for Jason to get back…"


	4. Reid's Gun

"You can't be serious, MJ." Jason says. He got back late at around 1 pm and you just finished explaining your plan to him.

"Jason, he isn't a bad person." you say

"He can't be a very good one if he rapes and kills 9 women!" Jason shouts.

"Um… I didn't technically rape them..." Jose interrupts

"Shut up you!" Jason says "MJ, you can't do this, I won't let you-"

"Then walk away, Jason. Everyone else has." You say. Jason looks hurt by your words.

"I won't let you save a murderer in vain!" Jason shouts back

"He has one more get out of jail free card in his contract. He can use it for the 9 other women and serve a handful of weeks for mine." You say.

"It would be Emily's funeral all over again" Jason said "Do you really want to put everyone through that?"

"It is my choice, I have to save him, he is a good person. I can't go back to the way things were before." You look over at Jose. "You don't get it, Jason. It isn't like you and The Footpath Killer. The Footpath Killer was a psychopath, Jose is not. Jose ran from his past, only to be rediscovered in Virginia and held to his contract, which by law he shouldn't have been held to but how was he supposed to know that because if he doesn't keep up his end of the deal he could be killed, and the only reason he isn't dead already is because I was out of town and someone's absence is a pretty good excuse for not killing them."

"You just don't give up do you?" Jason says "MJ, you could lose your job for this."

"It's worth it." You say "He is worth it." You gesture to Jose who has his hands in his hoodie pockets. "He could have killed me while you were gone and skipped town, but he didn't. All the choices that he planned on making were shot to hell because he sees the same thing you see about me. His first instinct is to protect me. Last time I checked my protection was a good thing according to you."

"You are as stubborn as your mother, MJ" Jason says.

"And damn proud of it too." You reply. Then there is a knock at the door. You on impulse grab Jose and push him into the bedroom closing the door behind you. You listen and hear the front door open.

"_Hey, Spencer, what are you doing here?" _

"_I had Garcia track MJ's phone. Is she here?"_

"_Come on in, she is taking a nap in the bedroom."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah, whatever happened with you and her yesterday must have been pretty bad, it took 3 batches of chocolate pancakes to calm her down and then she cried on my shoulder until she fell asleep. Have a seat." _

"_I think I'll stand… She didn't tell you what happened?"_

"_No, but I know it has something to do with that tiara she had with her."_

"_Did she tell you she met someone?"_

"_No, what's he like?"_

"_He works at a truck stop. I met him yesterday morning, he was wearing a leather jacket just like this one."_

You look at Jose and remember that you had put his leather jacket on the sofa. '_Damn!_' you think.

"_I have an eidetic memory," _you hear Reid say_ "he's here isn't he?"_

"_Spencer, I think you should leave"_

"_He is with her in the bedroom isn't he?"_

"_Spencer—Spencer, don't!" _

It's too late Reid has opened the bedroom door and has his gun pointed at Jose. You look from one to the other. Jose pushes you behind him and pulls out a switchblade. Wrong move.

"Put it down." Reid says walking forward

"You first" Jose says.

"Spencer, Please!" Jason walks in and touches Reid's shoulder

"I will shoot." Reid says

"Not with her so close to me, you won't," Jose says.

Jose pulls his hand back, ready to slit Reid's throat and Reid gets that determined look he gets just before he pulls the trigger and in that instant you know there is only one way to save them both. You move around to the front of Jose just as Reid pulls the trigger. The bullet hits you straight through to the middle of your upper back. Your body lurches forward slamming you into Jose's switchblade. The knife stays lodged in your abdomen just 2 inches beneath your breast bone. You don't scream, you don't breathe, you just look at Jose's dark blue eyes.

"MJ!" Jason shouts

Jose lets you fall back into his arms and then lifts you up and carries you to the bed. Jason takes Reid's gun away and puts it on the corner of the bed then he pulls out his phone and calls 911. Reid is in shock. He is standing against the wall like he was the one with the bullet and stab wound. You do the only thing you can think of doing, you laugh.

"Isn't it funny…" you say taking short breaths "You were all trying to protect me and then this…"

"Hey Bookworm! Snap out of it and get over here!" Jose shouts. Reid doesn't respond.

"His… His name… Is Spencer…" you say gasping for air.

"Spencer!" Jose yells. Reid looks at him then slides down the wall to the floor

"You're… Free…" you say closing your eyes.

"Hey! No, no, no, come on Beautiful!" Jose says tapping your cheek "Stay with me, mija!" Your eyes open.

"The paramedics are on their way," Jason says. "It was not supposed to happen like this."

"Ja- Jason," you say "Help Reid…"

Jason turns around and tends to Reid.

"Jose…" you say and you shakily put your hand on his that is on your cheek. "You… h-have to… take it out" you wince from the pain.

"No, you'll bleed out…" Jose says "I can't let you die…"

"Jose, I don't think I can stand…" you say then you shake your head "I can't live knowing that you will be killed because of me…"

"You have to," Jose says

"I can't" you say. An EMT runs in then another and another with a stretcher, they try push Jose out of the way but he still has your hand and he won't budge.

"Sir, we need you to let go" says one EMT, a shorter lady with red hair and dark skin. She has a Puerto Rican accent.

"No, I won't." Jose replies with determination in his eyes.

The EMT looks at the others then says "Fine, if you won't let go then help us move her." Jose nods and the 4 of them move you to the stretcher taking the bed's top blanket with them. They wheel you out to the ambulance and load you in, Jose staying by your side and holding your hand the entire time. You look out the doors in time to see a dark SUV pull up and the remaining male members of the BAU run inside…


	5. Garcia's Call

"What happened?" Aaron asked.

The sight before him was horrific. There was blood on the bed, a bloody foot print trail leading out the doors to where the ambulance just was, blood splatter all over his second youngest agent and former boss/co-worker. Spencer was curled into himself. The shock of shooting a fellow agent had consumed him and Aaron dreaded to think about what was going to happen when the shock was replaced by guilt. Jason had been talking to Spencer when the other members arrived. He only left Spencer's side when Derek came in and took over.

"Our need to protect her got in the way of her safety. There was always something about her that made the world want to protect her on sight. The Latin King came here, he probably followed my truck, and he was ready to turn himself in. he admitted to the 9 other murders and explained the contract he was under." Jason said staring at the bloody mess. "MJ doesn't trust people, ever, so when she put her trust in him, I had to see if he would keep it. I was gone 3 hours and he hadn't laid a hand on her. She was making grilled cheese and tomato soup for us for lunch."

"She placed too much trust in him." Dave came in following the blood with his eyes. "She should have come to one of us when her addiction started up again."

"She hates being profiled." Derek says helping Spencer finally rise to his feet. "So where is The Latin King now?"

"He went with her in the ambulance." Spencer said in a very small weak 'ohgodwhathaveidone' voice.

"And you let him?" Derek shot at Jason.

"I'm sorry, I was working on damage control for Reid like MJ told me to!" Jason shouted back "And he refused to let go of her hand, the EMT's had to take him along."

"This isn't the time or the place." Aaron interrupted "You shouldn't have left him alone with her, Jason."

"Shut up Aaron, if you had been in my place you would have done the same thing." Jason said.

Just then Dave's phone rang. He looked up at the rest of the guys. "It's Garcia." He handed the phone to Derek and Derek answered it putting it on speaker.

"You're on speaker, baby girl." Derek says

"So are you Baby Boy," Penelope says

"MJ's phone just called us here, but it wasn't her on the other end" says Emily.

"It was a Hispanic guy," 'JJ' says. "He said his name was Jose."

"He told me to 'Do that techy phone call recording thing that you did for the bookworm.'" Penelope says "And this is what he said…"

There was a bit of static and then Jose's voice came through:

"_You ready, Miss Pretty Penny?" Jose said_

"_Yeah go head" Came Penelope's recorded voice_

"_To the members of the BAU: they have just started surgery on MJ. The doctors gave me a preliminary report. They say that it's a 50/50 shot whether she will ever walk again. They said she will live, but that as of now, she would be paralyzed from the bullet wound down. Your lovely technical analyst should have pin-pointed my location by now, so she knows that I am at Agape Memorial Hospital." Jose's voice began to crack a little. "I want to stay here until she gets out of surgery, if you will allow me to. Don't worry I am unarmed. I don't know if there is anything else you need to know but I will keep you posted on her condition. I wish I had met her sooner, she is a truly beautiful person, and she gives me hope, and proves, that there is still good in the world." There is a slight pause. "I'm sorry it had to come to this point, but since it has, there isn't anything more for me to do except wait for you guys to get here. Remember you are heading to a hospital, so try to avoid the 'guns blazing' part that the FBI is notorious for, you could scare the patients." _

There was a click signaling that Jose hung up.

"Was that last part a joke?" asks Dave

"If so, this guy has a strange sense of humor." Emily says

"No, he was being serious." Aaron said.

"Who is this guy?" JJ asks.

"He is The Latin King." Three gasps came from through the phone.

"Did he…?" Penelope began

"She impaled herself on the switchblade he was using to protect her." Spencer says quietly, as if he is a small child about to be yelled at for breaking something. "She wasn't supposed to get shot… She was trying to save him…"

"So what do we do?" Emily asked

"We wait." Jason says receiving incredulous looks from his former team.

"You can't be serious," says Penelope.

"Think about it, this guy is just going to sit in the lobby until MJ gets out of surgery, he doesn't have any signs of mental health problems. He just has a death threat or two against him." Jason says

"Or 8" mumbles Derek

"Jason's right," Aaron says "If we do try to take him out of that hospital, he could go on a rampage. He just wants to be there to make sure she is alright."

"And so do we," Penelope said. "We are already in the car, what is taking you guys so long?"

The guys looked at the phone and then ran to the car. Except Spencer who just stood there. Derek had to go back in and pick him up and carry him out to the SUV. They got to the hospital and ran inside, just after the girls.

Jose was sitting in an isolated chair with his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped together and his head bowed. He only looked up when he saw 8 pairs of shoes in his peripheral vision.

"She is still in surgery." Jose says standing. His head falls and he holds out his hands, fisted toward each other, and he waits. The BAU past and present members look at one another and then Penelope steps forward. She takes his hands in hers and forces eye contact. Once made Jose follows Penelope's eyes until they are looking at each other in a natural way. She looks at him long and hard.

"I see what she sees." Penelope says. "Jose, we won't take you away from her, not until you're ready to go."

Jose shakes his head. "That's not what's supposed to happen."

"You're right" Spencer says stepping forward "you should be in there, not her. You should have bled out on the cabin floor, you should be dead right now, and if she didn't trust you and love you and have faith in you, you would be!"

"You should kill me where I stand" Jose says his head hanging lower than when they first arrived

"But we won't" JJ says

"Why?" he asks

"It's called mercy." Emily says. "Accept it."

"Before we change our minds," David says. Jason elbows him really hard in the ribs.

"Would the family of Musical Journey please identify themselves" says the nurse behind the counter

"Come on." Aaron says leading the group to the ER counter.

"You had better be worth all this love and faith she has decided to give you." Derek says pushing past Jose

"How did her surgery go?" Jose, Jason and Spencer ask at the same time.

"Are all of you her family?" asks the nurse. She looks new

8 out of 9 show their credentials [Jason never took his out of his wallet] "Answer the question." They all say. The nurse jumps back.

"I-I-I d-d-don't kn-no-ww," she says "the doctor told me to have you go to recovery room 5" and she points down the long hall. "Three doors down on the left"

All 9 of them walk down the hall, Jose, Jason and Spencer leading the way.…


	6. Jose's Gift

You wake up and look around. The first thing you notice is that there are flamboyant gifts all around. _'Garcia…' _You think. The next thing you notice is that there are two men holding your hands, one on each side of you.

"Good Morning, Beautiful." Jose says then he reaches over you and shakes Reid. "Hey, Bookworm! She's awake!"

"MJ!" Reid wakes with a start.

"Hey guys." You manage to say.

"The doctors say you will live, but there is no garuntee that the surgery on your spine worked." Reid begins "MJ, I'm so sorry, I-"

"Where's my duct tape?" you ask looking around. That shut him up quick. "Spence, I need to be alone for a minute with Jose." Reid glares at you. "Would you go find the rest of the team and tell them I'm awake, and tell Garcia to return the gift she has when you find her?" he reluctantly leaves the room.

"You have a great guy there," Jose says "He truly loves you."

"No," you smile sadly "No one truly loves me, not for who I am."

"Do you still trust me?" he asks

"Yes" you respond "Why wouldn't I?" he looks at you in slight disbelief.

"That man loves you, he hasn't left your side since you came out of surgery, and he declined every attempt for your team to get him out of the room. He declined coffee for you, MJ, He loves you." Jose says. "You should trust him as much as you trust me, even more so, in fact, because my intentions were not noble and falling in love was a side effect."

"I know." You say with a sigh "Jose, you are an amazing person, and I will always love you, maybe not romantically, but certainly unconditionally."

"And I will love you," He looks at you noticing a tear "why are you crying Beautiful?"

"Because he was here all the time… I just didn't see the tree through the forest." You say "It took a serial killer to show me that."

"Now that you know, you have to make it right, and you will Beautiful." He wipes the tear off your cheek with his thumb.

"So, what's going to happen to you now?" you ask

"I have vital information," he leans back "once I give your guys that information, I'm using my last ticket on this mess and I'm heading out of this place."

"I'll miss you," you say

"I know and I will always count myself lucky and blessed that I have received the love of a girl like you." He takes the tiara out of his large hoodie pocket and places it on your head. "Promise me you will stay beautiful and not rebuild that wall around your heart."

"I promise." You say

"That's some family you got out there. Miss Pretty Penny said that she sees what you see in me. I just hope I don't let two beautiful women like yourselves down." Jose says looking out into the hall. Morgan is waiting with handcuffs, Garcia right next to him. "I have to go now. Next time you have the desire to cut, go to the Bookworm's place. And don't offer people rides home until you have known them at least 8 hours and had Miss Pretty Penny run a background check on them."

"Ok…" he turns to go but you won't let go of his hand "I get that you and I can't have that sort of relationship but could I get just one more kiss?"

He laughs to himself and shakes his head "This is the last one." He says.

Jose leans down and his lips softly brush across your cheek then they come to your own lips. The kiss is soft and gentle. Morgan clears his throat from the hall way earning an elbow jab from Garcia, who then takes the handcuffs from him.

"Good bye beautiful" Jose says walking out.

"Bye…" you say.

You watch him walk out and Garcia puts the handcuffs on him, a bit too gently for Morgan's liking, and they walk down the hall. You shake your head as Jason, Hotch, Rossi, Reid, Emily and JJ come in the room. They all start talking at once and you can't hear one from the other so you raise your hand. Once they all notice and stop talking you put your hand down.

"ok, so let's go over a few facts:" you begin "First, I acted like an idiot." No one objected to that. "Second, I should have come to one of you guys before letting it get this far." No objections to that one either. "Third, I jeopardized the whole team by my actions for which I am very truly sorry. Especially to you Spence." His eyes meet yours for the first time since you woke up in the hospital. "Back in the cabin, I wasn't just protecting Jose. I was protecting you too, Spence. He would have slit your throat and you would have shot him through the heart. I couldn't-" suddenly there is a strip of tape across your mouth. Spencer just duct taped your mouth, you couldn't believe he just did that. You grab his hand and a pen from the bed side table, and write part of an old poem you used to know:

_For the rest of my life I will trust you, because I love you._

_I love you and it hurts, because I know you may never love me back._

You let go and Spence reads it. Then he takes the duct tape off you slowly, so that it doesn't hurt you. He leans down and kisses you. A gentle kiss that is still firm. One that has sealed you and his relationships fate. The kiss suddenly deepens because Reid has been pushed forward by Jason. Reid had to brace himself on the bars of the bed.

"I will always love you back." Reid says breaking the kiss. He stands up straight then sits next to you. You scoot over so he has a bit more room and then you lean on him as he puts his arm around you. He kisses the top of your head. "Always." He whispers.

In a few hours, you will get word that Jose has been pardoned, and the man who had Jose under contract was in fact the creepy trucker. Tomorrow you will have to pick out the trucker from a line up, you will have to file several reports, and fill out lots of paper work. Tomorrow night you will get a message from a Muslim named Ali from Colorado, with a photograph, he will look like someone you used to know. But right now, you could care less about those things. You were safe and the only thing that matters is the love you and Spencer have for each other.


	7. Disclaimer, Authors Note, and Poem

_**Disclaimer:**_ I OWN NOTHING! only the plot, the poem and The Latin King are mine. outside of that i own nothing.

_**Authors Notes:**_ This is un-beta-ed. all errors are mine. it is rated M due to sexual experiences, strong language, and violence. it is a Reader[OC] / UNSUB with relationships revolving around the male members of the BAU. It hasn't turned out the way i planned but it is still pretty good i think. I am a sensitive girl, and I cry easily, so please be gentle with me.

_**Chapter Information: **_ The chapter titled "_Garcia's Call_" is written in third person, because the reader is in surgery, all others are in second person.

**How I Hurt to Love You**

I love you and it hurts because,  
You may never love me back

For one moment I felt wanted  
That moment was with you  
I love you and it hurts because,  
I may never feel wanted again.

For one moment I felt like the  
Most beautiful girl in the world.  
I love you and it hurts because  
I may never feel beautiful again

For one moment i took a risk,  
That risk changed my life  
I love you and it hurts, because  
I may never take a risk again

For one moment i stepped out  
in blind faith to trust someone  
I love you and it hurts because  
I may never have that faith again

For the rest of my life i will  
Trust you, Because i love you.  
I love you and it hurts because  
I know you may never love me back


End file.
